Process and apparatus for preserving fruits, vegetables, grain, and other organic substances.



S A. KAPADIA.

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR PRESERVING FRUITS, VEGETABLES, GRAIN, ANDOTHER ORGANIC SUBSTANCES.

APPLICATION FILED OCT- 5. 1914.

1 ,259,41 0. Patented Mar. 12, 1918.

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lwmvro/z WITNESSES A TTOHNEY s A. 'KAPADIA. PPARATUS ron pnssgavmeFRUITS, VEGETABLES, mm, AND OTHER ORGANIC suasTAuces. APPLICATION FILEDOCT- 5. 1914.

Patented Mar. 12, 1918.

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PROCESS AND A WITNESSES A TTORN E Y Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 12, refs.

Application filed October 5, 1914. Serial No. 865,085.

To all whom-it may concern:

Be it known that'I, SHAPORJI ASPANIARJI KAPADIA, doctor of medicine andbarristerat-law, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at 22Redcliife Gardens, South Kensington, London; England, have invented acertain new and useful Improved Process and Apparatus for PreservingFruits, Vegetables, Grain, and other Organic Substances, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved process and apparatus forpreserving fruits, vegetables, and especially has'for its object topreserve fruits of various kinds in a fresh condition for a prolongedperiod, 6. 9., up to 6 or 8 weeks or more if required; and the inventionrelating to that type or kind of apparatus or process in which fruit ororganic matter to be preserved placed in a closed chamber is deprived ofthe ordinary atmosphere for which latter is substituted a sterilizedatmosphere composed of indifferent or inert gas or gases which lattermay advantageously be at a pressure above the atmosphere and which is orare as far as possible of an incombustible nature and which is or arecooled and kept cool to the required degree and which may be circulatedeither continuously or from time to time as required in order that anymoisture may be withdrawn and the gas or gases cooled, the gaseousmixture thus deprived of moisture and its temperature lowered thenreturned in a dried state to the chamber so that the moisture given offby the fruit is continuously removed and its temperature kept down tothe desired degree.

ow the present invention is as follows z- -The ind'if (which I willhereinafter refer to as the gas) may be derived from any suitable sourcesuch as'the products of combustion of a surface combustion gas or liquidfuel fired furnace, the heat generated in the fur-- nace being utilizedfor producing steam for driving the refrigerating plant, or from theexhaust gases of an internal combustion engine, such gases beingsuitably treated to prevent any excess of oxygen, or from cyl- 1 erentor inert gas or gases grain or other organic substances inderscontaining such gas in a compressed state or liquid state or they may bederived from a suitable furnace by simply passing atmospheric air overor through a body of incandescent fuel or material such as coke. For thesake of example I will describe the present invention as used with asurface combustion gas fired furnace.

The inert gases coming from such furnace are by means of a rotary blowerdrawn through a water seal in which the temperature of the gas islowered say to about 60 degrees Fahr. and is then forced through arefrigerating chamber of any suitable type whereby the gases are cooledand the major portion of the moisture carried in the gases is extracted,the temperature of the gases bein cooled down to the temperature mostsuita le for the various kinds of fruit, etc. The cooled and partiallydry gases are then passed through a desiccating chamber where theremaining moisture is extracted and the gas forced into the storagechamber.

The storage chamber will be as far as possible gas tight and will beinsulated in order to avoid transmission of heat from the outsidetemperature so that the fruits may as far as possible be kept at aconstant temperature.

The chamber is provided with the follow ing fittings in order toexpedite the easy workin of the apparatus viz (1) bservation aperturesto enable the fruit or other organic matter inside the chamber to beseen from outside without enterin the chamber.

(2) ressure gages to show the pressure of the as inside the chamber.

(3) Test cocks or gages for enbling samples of the gas to be withdrawnfor the gas to be tested for oxygen or moisture.

(4) Suitable thermometers for indicating the temperature of the chamber.

(5) An excess pressure water seal or safety valve to relieveautomatically any excess of pressure in the said storage chamberinstantaneously.

injector or injectors or other suitable means for spraying or otherwiseinjecting or introducing into the said chamber any desired liquid or gasas for example (a) such mixtur monoxid, hydrogen;

- contain practically or other orgamc substances to.

' tion being admsted to suit the in normal or "formaldehyde or othergermicide or/and (b) ethereal salts or/andl (0) an anesthetic as etheror chloroform It will be obvious that any other suitable gage or gagesor any other devices such as indicators or 0th y conjunction with thisstorage chamber if required and the various gages may be .fixed in thepipework in connection with the storage cham esired- Or/and any or allof these last named substances in (6) or gases may be introduced at anyother suitable point in the system (instead of be' introduced directinto the storage chamb gs maybe introduced into the gas atany suitablepoint between'the water seal and storage chamber; r

From the storage chamber. a discharge P p or r p provided leading eitherto the outside atmosphere or to the suction side ofthe rotary lower sothat the gas may be circula around the systema v The-operation is asfollows:- An air tight storage chamber of an convenient dimensions maybe employe and after the organic su ces to be preserved have been placedtherein and closed I pass into this hamber 'a as posed of carbon.dioxid, carbon and nitrogen, the last named preponderatmg. The ercentageof carbon-monoxid redu to as small a percentage as possible in order torender the gas practically incombustible.

The apparatus is so arranged that when us is introduced into the ar-tight storage chamber, the air therein will be driven out so that thechamber will nothing but the mixture of the gases specified above andthe fruits be treated. The gaseous mixtur in the chamber will becirculated continuously or intermittently in order to remove anymoisture given out by the fruit and in order to keep the gas cooled tothe requis te degree, the circulavarious kin of =frults or other organicmatters under treatment.

Oxygen from any may be advantageously aforesaid storage as and whensuitable source is or introduced in to the from time to time 7 to keepthe fruit, etc., fit condition, 0. g., pure oxygen may be so used orsterilized atmospheric air may be employed. Alternativelyaccordingtothenatureoftheiruitasmall ercentage of oxygen may beintroduced into the chamher when charging with the other gas so thatdevelopment of the fruit may take place, but at a very slow rate.

Germmdes such as formaldehyde or sulerwlse may be employed n v plant. esorpassages) 1sthe furnace A fr the chamber 'by the blower which the gasis passed trays in order to absorb any 0nd and third trays may tivelythe tight.

chamber for-preserving the sub as fruits from germs, bacteria, etc.-Also ethereal salts or. alcohol may be similarly introduced if desired.

I will now proceed to further describe my present invention withreference to the ac.- companying drawings Figure 1 of which illustratesa. working plant or apparatus ac cording to this invention and Fig. 2isa plan thereo a y A is'a furnace in connection with a steam etc., into,which'gas-or liquid fuel is introduced and passed over incandescentmaterial in the usual way with surface combus-, so tion, the heatenerated' being used for prov ducing steam or drlvlng the refrigeratingB is a water seal through which the gases from the furnace are drawn bythe rotary '85 blower C in order to cool the gases an cleanse them. Thewaterseal also acts asa seal to prevent the gases flowing back to em thesystem when the blower is not working. I

D is the refrigerating chamber containing cooling coilcs overwhich thegas is forced desiccating chamber through for drying and is by-passed inorder to allow the drying material to be changed without losing thecharge of gas in the remainder of the system. This desiccator E maycomprise three towersin series taining hydrated ferric exid arranged onsulfureted hydrogen produced by combustion. The seccontain desiccatingre g quick hme, calcium chlorid, etc., the trays being removable so thatthe re-agents may be renewed. Alternadesiccator and refrigerating 00'may be placed inside the storage amber ulating the E is the nts such asand a separate fan used for circ ases.

The. s after leaving the desiccator cham- (18 her E is led through thepipe L into the hunt chamber F.

The fruit chamber F is as far as possible air tight, insulated, andlined with fire-resisting material. The door (not shown) of this chamberF may be provided with lass panes (through which the condition 0 thefruits ma be observed from, time to time) and can e securely bolted andmade gas G is an excess pressure water seal which in the unlikely eventof a sudden rise pressure owing to negligence automa relievesthe-pressure instantaneously in the chamber and thus prevent my beefetc., be intro- 66 v I m cally atmosphere.

V is a valve in the nace and the blower.

V is a valve in the return main J.

V is a valve between the return main J and the pipe K to atmosphere.

V is a valve between the branch pipe L (delivery side of blower) and thepipe K.

V is a gas testing cock for sampling purposes.

. V is a valve in the delivery pipe L for shutting off the system fromthe blower.

and V are valves on the desiccator for shutting the said desiccator outof the system.

V is a valve for short circuiting the desiccator.

V is a valve for shutting off the storage chamber on the delivery side.

V is a valve for shutting ofl" the chamber on the suction side of theatmosphere.

I is the injector.

L is the delivery pipe from the blower to the chamber F when the valve Vis closed and valve V open; while when the valve V is closed and thevalve V open the branch pipe L becomes delivery pipe from the blower tothe discharge pipe K to the pipe between the fur- J is the suction pipeor passage from the chamber.

K is the pipe to atmosphere.

N is the by-pass with valve V therein for by-pass purposes for thedesiccator.

In operation: all valves except V and V are closed when commencingcharging. The furnace and blower are then started up and when thedesired conditions have been obtained the valve V is closed and thevalves V V V V V and V are opened and the air is driven out of thechamber. When this has been accomplishedthe valve 3 is closed and thepressure of gas in the chamber is allowed to rise. After the necessarypressure has been obtained the furnace is shut oil and the valve Vclosed and V is opened so that the gas can circulate around the system.

By any suitable meansgermicides, e. 9., sulfur-dioxid, formaldehyde,chlorin, etc, or/ and ethereal salts or alcohol may be introduced in thefruit chamber; for example the gas after leaving the desiccator chamberE is impregnated on its way to the storage chamber F with germicides ordisinfectants, etc. by means of an injector O; or the gas may be causedor allowed to bubble through a receptacle not shown) containing thedisinfectant fluid, etc., before it enters the fruit chamber F.

The amount of the germicide or disinfectant used should be in very smallquantities and at long intervals. The rate of such injector is regulatedby means of valves or cocks adapted for the purpose.

I may employ a age containing calcium chlorid to indicate file presenceof moisture and a gage containing phosphorus to indicate (even smalltraces of) oxygen by fuming, when the connecting cocks are turned on.Thermometers to indicate the temperature of the top and the bottom ofthe chamber may be used and a pressure gage to indicate the pressure ofthe gas mixture inside the chamber.

Safety valves may be used instead of the excess pressure water seal G,these appliances being led to pipes or passages leading to atmosphere sothat when desired the gaseous mixture may be carried from the chamberinto the atmosphere at any desired distance.

When it is desired to discharge the gaseous contents from the chamber Fthe valve V is opened after closing V and the valve V opened so that thedischarge gases are sent through the pipes K to atmosphere at anydesired distance.

Particular features of this invention to render the apparatus perfectlysafe and reliable in use are as follows The gases used are such thatcontain only a small percentage of carbon-mon6xid under the worstconditions, and are therefore incombustible.

The supply pipe H from the furnace to the chamber is fitted with a waterseal B and is also fitted with a non-return valve V for preventing thegaseous mixture from the chamber F from traveling back and (ifexplosive) becoming ignited at the furnace. This can only take placewhen the fan is not running and the valve V is negligently left openafter charging.

The excess water seal G will instantly re lieve any abnormal pressure.

By the aforesaid arrangement the gaseous contents of the apparatus canbe kept under a pressure above atmospheric pressure so that leakage intothe system of outside air is absolutely prevented.

Lamps if used for illuminating the chamberF are all purposely putoutside the chamber or bulkhead fittings used. From the glass door agood view of the interior of the chamber can be obtained as the lampsare above the chamber so that there is no need for fitting lamps insidethe chamber.

All places where leakage is likely to occur outward are thoroughlyventilated.

What I claim is 1. A preserving apparatus comprising a chamber forreceiving the articles to be preserved, a generator of inert gas, acooler, a desiccator, and means for conveying the gas from saidgenerator first through the cooler, then to the desiccator, andthereupon into said chamber.

2. A preserving apparatus comprising a chamber for receiving thearticles to be preserved, a generator of inert gas, a gas-propellingapparatus having means for connecting its suction side either with saidgen- 5 erator or with said chamber, a connection iromathe delivery sideof said apparatus to said chamber, a cooler and a desiccator 1oeated inseries in said delivery connection.

3. A method of preserving which consists 10in first cooling an mert gasto partly dry it, then efi'ecting a further removal of moisture byhygroscopic substances, and thereupon treating the articles to bereserved, with the dry cool inert gas thus 0 tained. 15

4. A method of preserving which consists treating the articles to bepreserved with a dry cool inert gas, then subjecting the gas which hasbeen used for such treatment,

to refrigeration to remove part of the moisture it may have absorbed,and to the action of hygroscopic substances, andnthen again treatingsaid articles with the gas thus cooled and dried.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twowitnesses.

S; A. KAPADIA.

Witnesses: H. BIRKBEGK, HERBERT D. Jamison.

